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Ben Kale
Benjamin "Ben" Kale is a student currently attending Twin Branches High. He is a sweet, popular nerdy kid who, at first, gets picked on by the new bully Spencer, who eventually turns to be his best friend. Ben is promoted to a main character in A New Start. As of the Troublemakers reboot he has been demoted to a recurring character and is still in a relationship with Emily. Duration:The New Girl Season 5- Present Background Ben was born as a single child to two parents in Centerscore. Growing up with an interest in science and school, Ben often competed in science and math competitions, winning medals and trophies for the divisions he competed in. His parents divorced during his sophomore year in high school (due to his father's increasing interest with his career and his decrease attention on his wife) and surprised his mother when he chose to stay behind with his dad. This decision was made with the motivation to stay with his friends. His mother proceeded to move to New York. Ben describes his parents divorce as never "being clean" and it is implied that the two of them still don't get along since Ben's mother called him to accuse his dad of selling her brooch before the divorce papers were finalized. Storylines The New Girl Ben started out as one of the school nerds and he did not have many friends. Ben was bullied by new school bully Spencer. Ben met Denni, however, and they started dating. The two eventually break up through the meddling from Jessica Blaire, who desired to date Ben because he was presidential material, after being dumped by her previous boyfriend, Justin. Jessica drastically changed Ben's appearance and helped him climb the popularity status, as she continued using him, while Ben remained unaware of her schemes and considered her a good girlfriend. After learning that the election polls, which stated Ben won the majority of votes, was rigged and that Jessica was using him the entire time, Ben breaks up with Jessica. Ben befriends Colt who originally disliked Ben as he thought he tried too hard and thought that his girlfriend, Denni, still liked Ben. Ben then got Colt out of trouble with the police and instead sacrificed himself which made Ben grow on Colt. A New Start In the game's major change in September 2012, Ben received a character change and remained a main character throughout the reboot. Ben is now one of the most popular guys at Centerscore High. Ben was also given another look and is best friends with Spencer. On Ben's Junior year, Ben met Emily Kessler who he instantly had a crush on, although Dominique Clark, Emily's enemy had a crush on Ben. Ben and Emily started to get closer when Emily attended Ben's house party. Ben told Emily how he isn't interested in Dominique and Ben and Emily are able to escape from Dominique when she is desperate to get Ben's attention. Ben and Emily eventually start dating and Ben opens up to Emily about his parent's divorce. Ben is not allowed to Homecoming, however, because of his low grades. Ben then works hard and his grades improve. Ben is then allowed to Homecoming. Dominique then reveals to Emily's father about Ben and Emily's relationship and he is furious. Emily then breaks up with Ben. Ben and Emily later get back together, however, and he takes her to Homecoming. When Ben realizes that Emily missed the Junior Nationals for swimming to go to Homecoming, Ben immediately drives Emily to the Junior Nationals and Emily wins her race. Emily's father still disapproves of Ben as he believes he is not masculine enough so Ben joins the basketball team and turns out to be the best player. Emily's father likes Ben because of this. Ben and Emily's relationship becomes troubled when Emily believes that Ben is trying too hard to impress her father. Emily is also annoyed that Ben will not work harder to get closer to his own father. When Ben talks to his father, Emily grows respect for Ben again. Ben then acts as Romeo in Sam Hill and Zoe's version of 'Romeo and Juliet'. Emily acts as Juliet. However, Andrew sabotages the play, causing Ben to fall of the stage and injure his leg. He then ends up in a wheelchair. Ben decides to rejoin Robotics Club when he finds out about the robot, L.Y.L.E having problems. The nerds are happy about him rejoining. Ben is primarily absent throughout Season 7 as it takes place during the summer holidays but makes a few appearances at a party in Summer Beginnings and at the beach with Emily and Kimi in A Clash of Queens. Troublemakers The 2013 reboot features a new main cast including Ben's best friends Owen and Spencer. Ben's character has been demoted to a recurring character. He has since made very few appearances in the story, accompanying Spencer and Owen both times. Personality Ben started out as shy and nerdy although when he started dating Jessica, he became more cool and popular. Ben also became rebellious when he started skipping classes, not doing his homework and getting suspended from school although he shaped up when he started dating Emily. Ben also became manly and a jock when he joined the basketball team and is currently one of the most popular guys at Twin Branches. Ben is still nerdy and highly intelligent, however. He is also interested in Science. Age When Ben first appeared in the game, in year three, he was said to be a freshman. One year later, he was stated by both his father and Howard that Ben was a sophomore. One year after this, Zoe said that Ben was still an Underclassmen meaning that Ben must have been a Junior. Thus, as of year 6, Ben is currently a senior. Relationships Romantic Interests Denni Fallon Ben had a crush on Denni. At first she did not respond to his advances because she was too wrapped up with Colt. They kissed in the episode, Homecoming Game. But then there was some tension because Denni accidentally kissed Colt thinking he was Ben. However, in the episode, Halloween Party, Part 2,﻿ they officially became a couple. They dated for a short time until Jessica decided she wanted Ben as her boyfriend, so she could be First Lady. Jessica hatched a plan to steal Ben from Denni, which succeeded. After Ben kisses Jessica, Denni finds this unforgivable and makes their break up final. After Taylor Vale and Zoe Davis, expose Jessica's true intentions, Ben lists multiple things Jessica had done for presidential perks, including breaking him and Denni. At this moment, Ben locks eyes with Denni, feeling remorse and guilt. Jessica Blaire After Justin breaks up with her, she knows she needs a new person to give her the presidential privileges that were given to her when she was dating Justin. She then starts breaks up Denni and Ben, so that she can date Ben. They kiss which officially ends Ben and Denni's relationship. Jessica helps Ben forget about Denni. Jessica cheats to help Ben win the election. However, when Zoe and Taylor bust Jessica for using Ben and breaking him up with Denni, he dumps her out of pure anger. Emily Kessler Emily is Ben's current girlfriend and was her first kiss. ''Surviving High School: The Novel'' Along with the introduction of Emily's character, Ben first meets her when she attends her first day of high school in the first Surviving High School novel. During the novel, Ben is noticeably unhappy and disinterested in life and most of the activities he used to find appealing. Walking away from watching Dominique, a popular freshman who has her eyes on Ben, scarf down a couple pizzas, he comes across Emily's table in the cafeteria where she has stuffed her hands in yogurt in an attempt to hide her big lunch from him. Finding her excuse of burning her hands in chemistry amusing, Ben laughs before leaving with Spencer, calling her 'yogurt' on his way out. The two share a few more instances of flirtation before she is invited to his party. Emily walks into a room while searching for the bathroom where she instead finds Ben hiding from Dominique. The two of them talk about Ben's previous science and math awards. Ben reveals to Emily that he doesn't like Dominique and that he only hangs around her because Spencer wants a chance to hook up with her. The two of them continue to bond and flirt until he comes to her house one night to drop off her dress she had gotten wet and asks her out for coffee. While drinking, Ben gets really personal with her, talking about his parents divorce which encourages Emily to talk a bit about Sara's death. Emily reflects in the novel how easy it is for her to talk with him, which scares her into building her walls back up. When Homecoming is brought up in conversation, Ben comments that he thinks dances are a waste of time and that he can't go because he's on academic probation. Emily is able to see through him and recognizes that he wants to go but can't because of his probation and covers it up by saying he doesn't want to. Seeing that Emily is noticeably down, he realizes that Emily had wanted to be asked by him to the dance. Parking outside her house on the way home, Ben promises her that he will try his best to take her to the dance. Leaning in for a kiss, Emily stops him and admits that it would be her first. Ben agrees that it should be special then and they plan on waiting till the dance. The two of them become a known couple at school but are forced to keep it a secret from her father, Coach Kessler, who would only disapprove of the relationship. The two of them frequently sneak out at night to go on dates which begins to interfere with her sleep schedule. This snowballs into Emily falling asleep during class and not being able to be her best during swim practice. The couple are caught by Coach Kessler when Dominique tips off her Dad out of jealousy. The night after Ben reveals that he had pulled up his grades enough to take her to the dance, Emily breaks up with him at school. This abrupt split devastates Ben who is noticed to be a lot more quiet and sad afterwards. The two reconcile when Emily surprises him at his locker one day with roses (an event that parallels the roses he brought her the time of their breakup). The two share their first kiss. Ben and Emily attend Homecoming together but upon discovering that she was missing Junior Nationals to be there with him, he quickly drives her to the swimming competition where she wins while he cheers her on in the bleachers. In-Game In Season 1 of the New Surviving High School, Ben is dating Emily Kessler where he spends most of the season trying to gain her dad's respect and approval. Swim Retreat, Part 1, starts off with Ben answering a question in class and making an excuse to leave so he could catch Emily before she and her swim team left for an overnight team-building retreat. The Coach disapproves of him ditching class but respects the effort he's put into seeing his daughter before she leaves so he allows them a couple minutes to say goodbye until he has to return to class. Ben listens as Emily's team laughs about an old story and feels uncomfortable when he notices Cameron's smile lingering too long on her for his liking. Emily teases him about being jealous when he expresses concern about Cameron's reputation for being a player and hooking up with a lot of girls. He does, however, send her off telling her that he trusts her. Ben is shown to not like Cameron's friendship with Emily in the bonus scene of Psych Project, Subject: Owen when he asks Emily to not talk about him anymore due to his discomfort. When Cameron puts his arm around Kimi and Emily in The Halloween Dance, Part 1, episode and starts taking pictures, Ben tells him to leave. He accepts their friendship and lets go of his jealousy in that episode's bonus scene when a fortune teller tells the couple that their relationship would fail if they didn't learn to accept one another. In the episode Basketball Tryouts, Ben gets onto the Basketball team with Emily being there to encourage him in order to get back into Emily's dads good graces. Spencer originally rejects and laughs at the idea of Ben trying out for the Basketball team since he thinks that Ben sucks at playing basketball, but then Spencer becomes impressed with Ben's profound Basketball skills in the tryouts. In the bonus scene, Emily talks with Zoe about how Ben may not have any time for her, as shown when he goes to a pizza with his friends instead of spending time with her. In the episode, Paige's Thanksgiving Party, Ben has Thanksgiving with the Kesslers. Coach Kessler has a lot of enthusiasm for Ben's new interest in basketball to the point that it annoys Emily. In The Snow Ball, Part 1, Emily is with Ben before he leaves for his game. Emily continues to tell Ben he does not have to impress her father anymore. She expresses her annoyance about this to Zoe, Sam, and Kimi. Ben is unable to attend the dance and Emily is unable to attend the game, so they each send pictures of themselves at their events to each other. In the episode's bonus scene, Lars (a player on the opposite team) provokes Ben into receiving a foul by insulting Emily. In The Snow Ball, Part 2, the team loses their game when Ben is distracted with the thought of Emily not being able to make it and misses the hoop. The guys make it back just in time for the remainder of the dance since the game was over quicker than they expected with their loss. Ben can be seen running into the school in a hurry to find Emily before the dance ends. After Autumn's photographs for the showcase are destroyed during Showcase Sabotage, Part 1, Zoe helps Autumn retake photos for the event, choosing Emily and Ben for her two of her themes: passion (Emily) and focus (Ben). Autumn captures a sweet moment between the two after Ben embraces her when she gets out of the pool. Their relationship struggled in Anti-Valentine's Day when they argued during their Valentine's date about Emily's dad and Ben's lack of effort to become closer to his own. Ben tries to get her to let it go but Emily gives him the choice of speaking to his dad next time he sees him or not having Emily at his Sectionals game. Their fight continues into The Art Showcase when Zoe observes that Ben looks "sad" and Spencer explains that the two had a fight, much to his annoyance. It's mentioned and implied during much of the episode that Ben remains this way for the rest of the night as he and Emily continue avoiding each other. He and Emily reconcile in Sectionals when Emily, happy with Ben's efforts to invite his dad to the game, shows up in time for him to see her and make the basket that wins them the game. It's also pointed out by Owen in previous episodes that Emily affects how well Ben plays and that he doesn't do well when she's not there watching him in the stands. Due to their unmistakable chemistry during their audition, Sam and Zoe cast them as Romeo and Juliet in Casting Call. The play starts off well with the actors remembering their cues, but Andrew sabotages the production when he tricks Spencer into running on stage for a line, in conclusion knocking into Ben's prop when he was climbing to the balcony and causing it (and Ben) to crash. Both him and Emily are immediately taken to the hospital by Coach Kessler to be checked out. Ben is revealed to have broken his leg and temporarily confined to a wheelchair while Emily is sick with a cough. Due to being in a wheelchair, Ben is unable to help out Emily and his friends when they leave on a mission to assist in helping Owen break into Monarch Prep to see Paige. He gets his chance in 'Owen's Eleven '''when he and Emily are mentioned by Kimi to have spent "all week together" coming up with a distraction so that Owen could break in again. Their plan was never truly explained since the plan doesn't make it that far but it was revealed that it included doves and a mysterious liquid Ben had created. Ever since they made up in the Sectionals episode, they've spent most of their time away from the group and together (much to Kimi's annoyance). It's mentioned by Nick that he spotted them making out on the roof and Zoe notices Ben distracted during SET prep writing out lists of possible date ideas for him and Emily and throwing notes at her (Ready, S.E.T., Go). Ben also explains in Talent Search they've been spending a lot of time together because of their recent monthiversary (when they honor another month of dating). Their first appearance together in the SHS game was in the second episode where Ben meets up with her after a swim practice and is invited to dinner with her family in order to prove himself. It can also be noted that pre-novel and game, Ben had admittedly known her sister Sara and had attended her funeral to his pay his respects (as seen in the The Storm, Part 2). When Emily experiences anxiety over a comparison between her relationship and his previous one with Jessica in a special bonus chapter for the novel, Ben reassures her that he has tons more fun with Emily than he did with Jessica and that he feels more like himself when he's around her. Friends Spencer Cooper Ben and Spencer initially disliked each other. While Ben was a nerd, Spencer was a bully, obviously making Ben an instant target. The two clashed, as Ben wanted a science club, whereas Spencer wanted a fist club for his anger problems. The two pranked Wilson High together, which made everyone believe they were best friends, although they both denied. However, through time, the two started bonding. Ben opened up to Spencer about his parents' divorce and his dad's lack of concentration and frankly concern regarding Ben. Spencer told Ben that he understood how he was feeling, as his parents were also divorced. Owen Harris Similar to John Johnson's first day at Twin Branches High, Ben befriended Owen, after a rough encounter with Nate Crawford. The two instantaneously became best friends. Ben has done a variety of activities with Owen, including joining the basketball team together and Ben has also assisted Owen in breaking into Monarch Prep to visit Paige Lenx, Owen's girlfriend. Family Mr. Kale Ben and his father, Mr. Kale have a tough relationship. Ever since his parents' divorce, Ben has noticed that his father mainly focused on his career, rather than Ben. Ben has noticed that his father only listens to Ben, when he has something to say about his academics, much to Ben's dismay. Aside from that, Mr. Kale has taken multiple business trips, even once on Christmas, which greatly hurt Ben. Appearance Throughout all of ''Surviving High School,'' Ben has been given a total of four looks: '' ﻿ *Ben used to wear a blue polo shirt, and had dark brown hair, parted to the side, and blue eyes. *Ben's second appearance resembles to his first, but his parted hair is more detailed, his eyebrows are scrunched up and shorter and has a different smile. *In the episode The Contestants, Jessica gives Ben a makeover, completely altering his appearance; he wore a red shirt; his hair is side bang-cut and has an altered facial appearance. To the popular students, this is considered an improvement, as they brand him "hot". *In the September 2012 reboot, Ben gets a new look. Ben's hair is essentially the same, only with brown and red highlights. He wears a new crimson polo with white and orange stripes. His facial appearance is again altered. Trivia *Ben doesn't like Japanese food. *His mom moved to New York following his parents divorce, expecting Ben to come with her. He didn't move to New York with his mom because he didn't want to leave all of his friends behind. *He was on probation and not allowed to attend any of the upcoming dances until he raised his grades in Surviving High School: The Novel. *How he plays in a basketball game is affected by his girlfriend Emily Kessler's presence at the game - if she's there, he plays well in order to impress her. If not, he performs poorly. *Won 1st place in an 9th grade pre-calc division for the California Math Olympiad (and previously for 8th grade). *Ben has received the most makeovers out of any character, having four makeovers. *Ben is the only character to go from being a nerd to popular. *All of Ben's makeover's have gotten him noticed and have effected the amount of females who have fallen for him. *Ben is one of the three characters to be in three relationships (Denni, Jessica and Emily) with the other two being Brendan (Kat, Dinah and Taylor) and Sam (Colt, Spencer and Nick). *Is the deputy captain of the basketball team. *Once ate dog food as part of a dare. *Is mentioned by Kimi in High School Story when she recounts her role in getting Ben and Emily together as a couple and confirming they are still dating to Autumn. Quotes Benquote.PNG Benquote2.PNG Benquote3.PNG Benquote4.PNG Category:Characters Category:Male Category:Basketball Team Members Category:Nerd Category:Popular Category:In A Relationship Category:Transformed Character Category:Original Cast